Venetian blind and hardware therefor



- Aug. 27, 1935. A LATHAM 2,012,856

VENETIAN BLIND AND HARDWARE THEREFOR Filed Sept.- 29, 1934 ATTORNEYPatented Aug. 27, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIAN BLIND ANDHARDWARE THEREFOR 30 Claims.

This application is in part a divisionof my prior application SerialNumber 704,081 of December 27th, 1933.

This invention relates generally to Venetian blinds and the hardwaretherefor and more particularly to certain improvements in constructionthereof which enable a better blind to be produced at less cost.

In order to obtain the most satisfactory results with blinds, it isnecessary that the slats be accurately adjusted both as to tilt as wellas height.

As objects of the invention are included the provision of and certainimprovements in the tilting mechanism as well as in the mechanism forholding the cords for adjusting the height of the bottom rail.

The invention is particularly concerned with an improved means forretaining the bottom rail in a height adjusted position by means of thecords which serve to raise and lower the bottom rail to uncover andcover the window.

The invention includes other features of advantage, other objects andnovel mechanisms and combinations which will appear at length in; the

following wherein a present preferred form of construction is disclosedin connection with the drawing.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the cord adjustingmeans.

Figure 2 is a plan view with a portion cut away to show details.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the cord adjusting cage and a tilt railbracket. I

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a head rail and the cage and bracket ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the head rail and a pulley.

Figure 6 is a rear view of a pulley support.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fi ure 5.

As is disclosed in the parent case hereof, cords 21 and 28 support abottom rail from a head rail -2 l Manipulation of these is resorted towhen it is desired to raise or lower the blind. In this case I havedisclosed certain mechanism on-the head rail for adjusting and handlingthese cords.

The cords 21 and 28, which support the bottom rail of the blind, runthrough holes in each slat and the tilt rail to the head rail whereinthey run down slot 69 after passing over a double guide pulley II. Tofacilitate construction and provide a long life blind, the pulleys aremounted on a pin 1] carried in a strap member 13 bent in a 65 U-shape toreceive the pulley and for insertion,

into hole 14 in the head rail through which one of the cords passes. Themember I3 is reduced in width or cut away as at 16 to pass the cord.

Heretofore the usual practice has been to guide the cords 21 and 28 awayfrom head rail so that I they could be freely operated to raise andlower the bottom rail, the cords beingwound about a fixed support tohold the bottom rail in a desired position. In accordance with thisinvention, semi-automatic'means are provided for holding 10 the cords 21and. 28 upon manipulation and re-' lease by an operator. A cage 8| alsotermed a U member herein, is mounted in an angular cut in the head railso that the ends lead off over a pulley 82 from slot 69 to the operator.This pulley i8 is rotatable on a pin carried in a member 83. Thismember, shown as a U-member with the pulley mounted between the legs, iscarried in the cage by pin 84 and has an extending arm. It is to benoted that when the angle of the end pass- 20 ing over the pulley isvaried, the member 83 moves on pin 84; in the preferred form, the membermoves to a position midway between cord positions 86 and 81 in Figure 1.This movement, although small, is amplified by the extending 25 armwhich extends beneath three members 88 carried on pin 92. The face 9| ofeach member is roughened and is adjacent the inner face of the cage.Each member is about the width of a strand of cord. 30

In operation, each face 9| can lie against a cord when the bottom railhas been adjusted and the weight of the suspended slats and rails is onthe cords, the cam contour of face 9| holds the cord jammed against theinner face 93 of the 35 cage. When a downward pull is given on one orboth of the cords, the jam is released and the cord runs freely. Whenthe bottom rail has been moved to a desired position, the operatormerely moves the cords. slightly to the left in Figure 1 9 and releasesthe cords. The movement to the left results in the pulley 82 movingmember 83 and, in turn, the face 9| to the left to engageand jam thecords. The cords remain in this position until released by a downwardpull on theirfree ends when the device can again be manipulated afterthe bottom rail has been moved as desired. 'To permit free adjustment ofeither cord, I groove the pulley H so as to have guldeways for each cordin the slot B9.- In addition, I form members 88 separately so that anyone of them is sufiicient to jam or release a cord, each member beingcapable of independent release and adjustment. Thus cord 21 can beadjusted without shifting cord 28, or vice versa, or both can beadjusted together.

To facilitate mounting and bring the end of the tilt rail as far to theside as possible, I mount bracket 31 on the cage 8!, riveting or spotwelding these together. Installation and construction is facilitated bythis structure. Bracket 3| carries a cord separator 32, a metal stripbent in a U with one leg secured to the bracket. Cords 21 and 28 areseparated by this member so that either can be manipulated withoutdifficulty over pulley 82, twisting of the cords being obviated so faras affecting pulley 82.

It is to be noted that the cord is adjusted by a movement which does notcarry it beyond the end of the head rail. This is an advantage as themanipulation is not limited by an adjacent window casement. made of somelight material so that it moves readily and I have used duralumin withsuccess. If a light material is not used, it is necessary tocounterweight each member-about pin 92 so that in effect the member isbalanced thereon.

In Figure '7, I have shown a section through the pulley II in Figure 5.The pulley is bushed with an anti-friction material 75 so that thepulley runs silently over its supporting pin 11. Since the pulley cannot be lubricated because of oil dropping on the slats, the constructionis advantageous. It can be applied to pulley 82 as well.

I claim:

1. A cord holder for use on a Venetian blind header, said holdercomprising a first member, a cord running through said header in onedirection and over said first member in a direction diflferent from saidone direction, a second member movable to engage said cord and jam saidcord to preventmovement thereof, and means for1moving said second memberincluding support means for said first member.

2. In combination, a stationary member, pulley means, a cord passingover said pulley means and changing direction by going around saidpulley means, means supporting said pulley means for rotation andmovable in response to a change in angle of said cord passing aroundsaid pulley, and cord jamming means movableby said supporting means topress said cord against said stationary member.

3. In combination, a stationary member, pulley means, a cord supportinga weight and extending therefrom to pass over said pulley means andchanging direction by going around said pulley means, means supportingsaid pulley means for rotation and movable-in response to a change inangle of said cord passing around said pulley, and cord jamming meansmovable by said supporting means to press said cord against saidstationary member whereby said cord jams under the pull thereon.

4. A cord holder for use on a Venetian blind header rail having cordsrunning along it to support the blind, said holder comprising meanssupported on said header rail at one end thereof for engaging said cordsselectively to retain any one of them temporarily against movement, andmeans operable upon a movement of an end of one of said cords toward theother end of said rail to operate said engaging means and upon adownward pull to release that one of said engaging means selectivelyengaged.

5. In combination, a plurality of cords, a plurality of separate cordengaging means, a support therefor including means cooperating with saidengaging means, and means for moving said en- Each member 88 ispreferably gaging means including a member mounted for rotationalmovement by any one of said cords, and means for separating cordspassing to said member.

6. In combination, a plurality of cords, a plurality of separate cordengaging means, a support therefor including means cooperating with saidengaging means, and means for moving said engaging means including a,member mounted for rotational movement by any one of said cords torelease that one of said cord engaging means jamming the cord operated,and means for separating cords passing to. said member.

7. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising stationary cord gripping means, a plurality ofseparately movable cord gripping means cooperating with said stationarymeans to engage cords threaded between both said engaging means, and anactuating means common to said movable gripping means and actuatable byone or all of the cords passing between said gripping means.

8. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising cooperating opposite groups of cord engaging means togrip cords threaded between said groups, one of said groups including aplurality of separate. cord engaging means, and an actuator operable byany one or all of the threaded cords to operate one or all of saidseparate cord engaging means.

9. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a cord grippingmeans rotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threadedbetween said rotatable and said stationary means, and an actuatorrotatable about a different axis to operate said rotatable means.

10. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a cord grippingmeans rotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threadedbetween said rotatable and said stationary means, and an actuatorrotatable about a difierent axis to operate said rotatable tionary cordengaging means, a plurality of sep- I arate cord gripping meansrotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threaded betweensaid rotatable and said stationary means, and an actuator rotatableabout a diiferent axis to operate one or all of said rotatable means andincluding a pulley carried by said actuator and over which said cordsare trained.

13. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising cooperating opposite groups of cord engaging means togrip cords threaded between said groups, one of said groups including aplurality of separate cord engaging means, and an actuator operable byany one or all of the threaded cords to operate one or all of saidseparate cord engaging, means, and means for separating cords passing tosaid actuating means.

14. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising stationary cord gripping means, a plurality ofseparately movable cord gripping means cooperating with said stationarymeans to engage cords threaded between both said engaging means, anactuating means common to said movable gripping means and actuatable byone or all of the cords passing between said gripping means, and meansfor separating cords passing to said actuating means.

15. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a cord grippingmeans rotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threadedbetween said rotatable and said stationary means, an actuator rotatableabout a different axis to operate said rotatable means, and means forseparating cords passing to said actuator.

16. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a cord grippingmeans rotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threadedbetween said rotatable and said stationary means, and an actuatorrotatable about a different axis to operate said rotatable means andincluding a pulley carried by said actuator and over which said cordsare trained, and means for separating cords passing to said actuator.

17. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a plurality ofseparate cord gripping means rotatable about one axis in one directionto grip cords threaded between said rotatable and said stationary means,and an actuator rotatable about a different axis to operate one or allof said rotatable means, and means for separating cords passing to saidactuator.

18. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a plurality ofseparate cord gripping means rotatable about one axis in one directionto grip cords threaded between said rotatable and said stationary means,an actuator rotatable about a different axis to operate one or all ofsaid rotatable means and including a pulley carried by said actuator andover which said cords are trained, and means for separating cordspassing to said actuator.

19. A cord holding device for cords supporting a Venetian blind, saiddevice comprising a stationary cord engaging means, a cord grippingmeans rotatable about one axis in one direction to grip cords threadedbetween said rotatable and said stationary means, and an actuatorrotatable about a different axis to operate said rotatable means andincluding a pulley over which said cords are trained.

20. A cord gripping means for use on cords on a Venetian blind headerrail, said means comprising a U member through which said cords pass, afirst member rotatably mounted in said U member and having a grippingsurface to jam .eords against said U member, and a second memberrotatably mounted in said U member and selectively movable by said cordsto operate said member to jam or release said cords.

21. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords run along a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U member through which said cordspass, said member being mounted at one end of said rail, a pulleymounted in said U member over which said cords pass to change direction90 and extend vertically, and a member rotatably mounted in said Umember and movable to jam a cord against said U member upon a movementof said vertically extended cords toward the other end of said rail.

22. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords run along a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U member through which said cordspass, said member being mounted at one end of said rail, a pulleymounted in said U member over which said cords pass to change direction90 and extend vertically, and a member rotatably mounted in said Umember and movable to jam a cord against said U member upon a movementof said verticaly extended cords toward the other end of said rail, saidmember being movable to release jammed cords upon a downward pull onsaid vertical extending cords.

23. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords run along a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U member through which said cordspass, said member being mounted at one end of said rail, a pulleymounted in said U member over i which said cords pass to changedirection 90 and extend vertically, and a plurality of cord engagingmembers rotatably mounted in said 'U member and movable to jam a cordagainst said -U member upon a movement of one of said versaid U memberupon a movement of one of said vertically extended cords toward theother end of said rail, said members being movable to release one ofsaid jammed cords upon a downward pull on one of said verticallyextending cords.

25. A cord holder for Venetian bind cords run along a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U mounting through which said cordspass, a pulley mounted in said U mounted and rotatable therein to changedirection of cords passing through said U mounting 90 so ends of saidcords hang vertically, cord gripping mearrs iii said U mounting, andcord separating means on said U mounting for separating cords passing tosaid pulley.

26. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords run along a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U mounting through which said cordspass, a pulley mounted in said U mounted and rotatable therein to changedirection of cords passing through said U mounting 90 so ends of saidcords hang vertically, cord gripping means in said U mounting operableto jam said cords upon a swinging movement of said cord ends in "adirection parallel to the face of the blind and to release said cordsupon a downward pull.

27. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords runalong a header railthereof, said holder comprising a U mounting through which said cordspass, a pulley mounted in said U mounted and rotatable therein to changedirection of cords passing through said U mounting 90 so ends of saidcords hang vertically, cord gripping means in said U mounting operableto jam said cords upon a swinging movement of said cord ends in adirection parallel to the face of the blind and to release said cordsupon a downward pull, and cord separating means on said U mounting forseparating cords passing to said pulley.

28. A cord holder for Venetian blind cords run along a, header railthereof, said holder comprising a U mounting through which said cordspass, a pulley mountedin said U mounted and rotatable therein to changedirection of cords passing through said U mounting 90 so ends of saidcords hang vertically, cord gripping means in said U mounting operableto jam said cords upon a swinging movement of said cord ends in adirection parallel to the face of the blind and to release said cordsupon a downward pull, and cord separating means on said U mountingextending parallel to'the face of the blind.

29. In a cord holder for Venetian blind header rail cords, a Umountinghaving flanges thereon for attachment to said rail," and a U bodyportion extending angularly between said flanges to lead said cords tothe front of said rail. I 30. In a cord holder for Venetian blind headerrail cords, a U mounting having flanges thereon for attachment to saidrail, and a U body portion extending angularly between said flanges tolead said cords to the front of said rail, and cord separating meanspositioned below said body and parallel thereto. I

ALLEN E. LATHAM.

CERTIFICATE or CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,012,856. I August 27, i935.

ALLEN E. LATHAM.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1,second column,

. line 15} after "operator" and before the period, insert the comma andwords the body of the cageOr U member, being at an angle to the rail,serves to guide and direct the cords to the "front of the blind; 'page3, first column, line 70, claim 20, before "member" insert the wordfirst; and second column, line 38, claim 24, for "member" read pluralityof members; and in line 39, strike out theword and" and insert a comma;and thatthe said Letters Patent should be read with these correctionstherein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of November. A. D. 1935.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

